


Anchor Pairs

by tnh1722



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Anchor concept, Lightwood sibling feels, M/M, Nightmares, fluff and comfort, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:53:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnh1722/pseuds/tnh1722
Summary: Alec has nightmares after a hard day at work and Magnus and Max are away. Izzy is able to calm him down enough to sleep until they return after they have a conversation about anchors. Alec comes to the realization that he doesn't have just one and it turns out that is something special.





	Anchor Pairs

Shadowhunters have nightmares. It’s inevitable. They experience threats that some could never imagine into existence. Some are recurring and some randomly pop up when you least expect them. Certain hunters only have one nightmare of their first fight for their entire lives. Others have specific fights that stick with them, especially injuries and near death situations. Alec Lightwood is no exception. 

Nightmares are not something typical for Alec. He has always differed from Jace and Izzy in that regard. His siblings have one or two a week on average that wake them from their sleep. Small and very slightly panic inducing, but they pass quickly and then they fall back asleep or they don’t even fully wake up. Alec’s only happen when he is overly stressed and exhausted, taking his entire chance of sleep from him for awhile. They used to be intense and steal his entire night away from him, sometimes without remembering it when he wakes or with it replaying every time he shut his eyes for the next day. 

He has gone months without one. Only one night during the war with Valentine. Not terribly bothered during Lilith’s reign. Even during his recovery from being stabbed by the Owl in the form of his parabatai, his nightmares were few and far between. His mind had been strong and focused on others. He had worked himself to the bone to fix what was broken including his brother and his boyfriend. His brain had little time to think about Alec when he always prioritized the world around him before himself. And when they did pop up, they could be combated by a call to his sister, a talk through with Magnus, and a grounding touch let him sleep on.

Things were truly looking up lately, probably the happiest time of his life so far. Izzy had remained healthy and away from yin fen, happily dating Simon and taking her position as Weapons Master with grace. Clary was back home in the arms of Jace, engaged and head over heels for each other while training the new line of hunters at the Institute. Luke and Maryse found refuge in each other and had reconnected with all of their children, blood relation or not as they offered their knowledge and support to the New York leaders. Magnus said yes to Alec’s proposal and they adopted Max together after his magic returned along with the pieces of him that had been taken with it.

So naturally, when Alec was at his best, the universe gifts him with a absolutely terrible day. He got called into the Institute around four in the morning by Jace because a large nest of Shax demons decided Prospect Park was their new home. With a kiss to Magnus’ forehead and check in on Max, he was out the door with a note left behind on his pillow to let his husband know where he had gone. 

Unfortunately, large nest was an understatement. They ended up calling out two more backup patrol groups after Alec and Jace were blindsided by the queen of the nest, leaving the parabatai wounded and unconscious. Their wounds healed quickly back in the infirmary, but Alec did not wake soon enough to see Magnus and Max off who were headed to the Spiral Labyrinth for Max’s six month check up and three night visit with Tessa. This is the first time they would be apart overnight since Max’s adoption. 

He flipped through reports in his office for two hours before Izzy came to gather him for a Clave meeting where he was proposing a change in the Accords to let the werewolves and vampires police themselves which was harshly denied yet again. Maia, Luke, Raphael, and Lily were all present and grateful for Alec’s attempt even though he felt as if he had failed them. 

Everyone had attempted to talk him down or offer a break, but Alec stood firm on wanting to go back to his office and finish his work for the day. He was on hold with the Paris Institute when a fire message from Magnus landed on his desk saying that he and Max may be staying longer than three days for furthering testing to be completed. 

Nothing was wrong with Max, but they wanted to test his strength with an elder high warlock who could not come until the end of the week. Magnus explained how beneficial it could be for them to know Max’s power limitations before his magic comes in so they can keep him safe. Apparently, their son was presenting an incredibly high power level at a young age and he has the potential to become as powerful as Magnus one day. 

Alec could never argue with that so he sent back the typical miss you and love you message before the Parisian leader’s voice came through his phone pulling his focus back into work. Hours had passed before Alec was brought back to reality by his siblings knocking on his door telling him it was ten o’clock. Isabelle insisted that he get some rest after the long day he had, encouraging him to stay at the Institute since Magnus and Max were not home. 

Of course, he waved off their concern and headed to the loft alone, letting his day sink in while he walked. He slipped out of his boots threw his stack of files on the coffee table while Chairman Meow circled his ankles. Alec picked the cat up and threw himself onto the couch feeling the exhaustion all the way to his bones. Knowing that his family wasn’t coming home left him with little willpower to get up so he grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and let sleep take over. 

However, sleep didn’t keep him for long. Alec’s hair was dripping with sweat and he was tangled in the blanket as he thrashed around on the couch. His breathing was getting quicker and quicker until he shot into a sitting position screaming at the top of his lungs. It took about ten seconds for him to come out of the haze, leaving him confused and anxiously searching for Magnus. 

Alec felt his breathing hasten when he realized his husband wasn’t next to him. He struggled to get his phone out of his back pocket and saw 4:17 on his phone screen, his brain not completely processing the few texts from his sister and a voicemail from Magnus. The confusion turned back into exhaustion and he fell back to sleep without even time to remember what woke him up. 

It felt like hours had passed when he let out another gut-wrenching scream while clawing the blanket off of his body. The daze made him feel drugged like he was moving slower than ever and unable to focus on anything until he realized it was nightmares waking him up as he remember the tiniest details of why he felt on edge. 

When he finally managed to grab his phone again, it was only 4:33 and Alec felt himself tense up. His mind was not going to let up until he had Magnus to ground himself and talk through it. He was angry at his choices to not take a break yesterday, it was his own fault that he was having nightmares. He knew better than to overexert himself after an injury and with Magnus out of town. 

Alec considered listening to Magnus’ voicemail since his husband’s voice has the ability to calm him down, but he decided against it. The biggest thing for Alec after a nightmare is physical touch, especially from Magnus as most of Alec’s nightmares entail his family being taken from him or killed in front of him. Hearing Magnus’ voice but not being able to hold him would most likely make it worse, causing Alec’s anxiety to rise even higher. 

Today was going to be another ridiculously long day because he would not let sleep win over. It would only get worse if kept going between fitful rest and confused wake. He had to get up and start his day before he ended up screaming enough to wake up all of Brooklyn. So he threw himself off couch, put on a pot of coffee, and jumped in the shower. He had early starts sometimes so he was hoping the night shift hunters wouldn’t question him coming in at 5:30 in the morning. 

Alec went straight to his office when he arrived, only seeing the person at the doors and the one on the cameras in Ops. He immediately worked on reports that needed finished from the last week which he finished by eight so he moved to his proposal rewrite for the Accords changes without breaking his focus or letting the yawns overtake him. 

Jace and Izzy were walking through the Ops Center around 8:30 to check on the morning reports. They had started doing it after Max was adopted so Alec could have more time in the morning at home. One of the early shift hunters was going through the attendance log when Izzy went to her and asked, “Good morning, Lauren. Could you let us know when Alec gets in? I need to go over some reports with him.”

“According to the log, Mr. Lightwood-Bane got in at 5:30 this morning. He must be in his office because I haven’t seen him,” Lauren responded, turning back to her tablet before seeing the siblings’ reaction. 

Izzy looked surprised and turned to Jace. “ Did you know he had to report early today?”

“No, maybe he scheduled early calls since Magnus and Max are out of town. Plus he likes to train early after a day like yesterday, burn off excess stress and all that,” Jace responded, his voice a little tense. 

“What’s wrong? That didn’t sound very confident.” 

“The bond was weird last night. He was anxious in the middle of night. I figured it was just being alone at home or something, but now that I think about it. Yesterday was crazy stressful, he got injured and his proposal got denied then he went home to an empty house,” Jace listed off. 

“Nightmares,” Izzy said quietly as she shook her head. “I knew I should have made him stay.”

“Not your fault, Iz. I bet he didn’t even think about it. He rarely gets them, but yesterday was the perfect storm for his brain. It just crossed my mind now. Let’s go check on him.” 

They made their way up to Alec’s office and knew that something was wrong because the door was closed with no note about a meeting on the door. Alec only closed and locked his door if he had an important meeting going on or a private conversation, always leaving a note on the door as to why. Izzy knocked and heard her brother grumble something on the other side before the lock clicked, but the door remained closed. 

She turned towards Jace sharing a look of concern. Izzy walked in and saw Alec at his desk with his glasses on, cup of coffee in one hand, stele twirling through his fingers of his other hand. All three are his tell-tale signs of being tired accompanied by a slight shadow under his eyes and a navy blue hoodie in place of his typical button down and suit coat. 

“Go take a nap,” Izzy said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “You’re obviously exhausted. You never wear your glasses unless you are tired and I don’t even want to think about how many cups of coffee you’ve had today already.” 

“I’m fine, Isabelle. And Jace had the same day I had yesterday, I can handle it.”

Jace shook his head and took Alec’s coffee mug earning him a heated glare and huff of frustration. “Not even a little bit true. I slept the rest of the afternoon while you were in that meeting and I actually ate lunch and dinner yesterday. Plus, I slept until 8 this morning. You’ve been here since 5:30, Alec. How are you even awake?” 

“I slept last night when I got home and the medics used a nourishment rune yesterday so I didn’t need to eat,” Alec explained as he moved to grab his coffee back but missing as he was moving slower than his typical speed. 

“That was pathetic,” Jace cut back with a knowing smirk leaving Alec rolling his eyes in response. 

“Will you please go rest? Yesterday was a hard day and you have nothing to do now that you’ve finished today’s reports,” Izzy bargained with her patented little sister puppy eyes. 

Alec shook his head. “Seriously, I’m fine. I don’t-”

“You’re not fine, Alec. We know you and this is not fine.”

“Isabelle, enough. I can handle myself.”

“I’ll message Magnus,” Izzy cut him off, her voice stronger than before. 

“You wouldn’t,” Alec responded, his voice annoyed but weak as Izzy and Jace both smirked back at him until he rolled his eyes in defeat. “Alright, I’ll go take a nap, but if anything happens, you will wake me up. And you will not call Magnus back home, Max’s visit is important. Got it?” 

“Loud and clear, big brother. Now come on,” Izzy responded with a smile as she extended her hand towards him. She let him clean up his desk before leading him down the hall to his bedroom with their arms linked together. His Head of the Institute suite rarely got used, but it was still well kept and clean for instances like this one. 

Alec struggled his boots off and put his glasses on the nightstand before curling up under the covers. He watched as Izzy went around the other side and kicked off her shoes before sitting up beside him on the bed. “Iz, what are you doing? You don’t have to stay.” 

“I’m just going to read through my reports and your bed is comfier than mine,” she said with a smile as she ran her hand through his hair a few times until she felt him relax under her touch and his breathing evened out. 

Not even thirty minutes later, Isabelle felt the bed begin to shift. She looked over to see Alec sweating and clutching to the blankets tightly. “It’s okay, Alec. You’re safe, we’re all safe,” Izzy whispered as she tentatively ran a hand up and down his arm. After a few moments, he seemed to relax slightly so she went back to her reports. 

Suddenly, Alec bolted into a sitting position while gasping for air and reaching around blindly to untangle himself from the bedsheet. He flinched harshly when a hand reached for his, calming slightly when he saw his sister beside him. “Breathe, hermano. We’re all safe, it’s okay. Just breathe.” 

He nodded quickly before letting his body fully relax back into the bed. “Sorry,” he whispered as he finally met her worried eyes. 

“For what? Having a natural reaction to all the screwed up shit we’ve seen in our short lives? You’re human, big brother. It’s okay. We've been doing this since we were kids, I'm here for you. You know that,” Izzy replied as she put her hand back in his hair in an attempt to soothe him. Alec looked at her with a small smile and left his head fall towards her touch. “Plus, you don’t wake up swinging like Jace or talking non-stop like Simon. So there’s that.” 

Alec tried to smile, but his brain made him think of how he usually wakes up and it sends shivers down his spine. “Screaming…”

“You weren't screaming, Alec. You haven't done that since we were kids.” 

“No, I still normally wake up screaming and confused unless Magnus catches it before I go all the way under. Sometimes he can talk me all the way out of it before it even happens, but I haven't had them like this in awhile,” Alec explained, watching Izzy’s expression morph into worry. 

“Like what? It’s only been one night. You used to go days when we were younger. Sometimes Jace had them for weeks,” Izzy answered, trying to make her brother see that it’s okay to have weaknesses. 

Alec sat up some against the headboard, his exhaustion evident in his slow movements so Izzy helped him. “Since I’ve been with Magnus, it’s usually one nightmare. I have one, I wake up, Magnus talks me down and I go back to sleep. I call you when I can't get back to sleep right away. I haven’t had anything like this since before...well, before Magnus. It doesn’t keep me up anymore to the point of not wanting to sleep. Actually, I haven’t had a single nightmare since we brought Max home.”

Izzy smiled and watched her brother come to the same realization as she had. “You miss them and you need them. It’s okay, big brother. Yeah, it’s been one night, but it was one night after a really horrible day. Honestly, we haven’t had a day like yesterday in a long time.”

“Yeah, I guess…” 

"I should've made you stay with me last night or I should've went home with you. I know better than that," Izzy said softly, apology heavy in her tone.

"Isabelle, stop. It's not you fault. You're starting to sound like me," Alec joked with a smile, his eyes growing more tired as his sister continued to pet through his hair. 

Izzy smile in response and figured she could talk him back to sleep like she does on the phone. “You know, I read this book a few months ago about Downworlders. I found it in the library during my research about greater demons. It was about control and how Downworlders typically go rogue or feral when they lose their anchor,” Izzy started, watching as her voice and steady movement of her hand in Alec’s hair let him continue to relax. 

“Anchor? Like a ship?”

“No..well, kind of, actually. An anchor is an emotional tether for them. Their anchor keeps them in touch with their abilities and bring them back from the edge of chaos. Of course, the book went on about how Nephilim don’t need that because we have trained control and we are so great and blah, blah, blah.”

Alec laughed quietly at her words until a more serious look crossed his face. “We definitely have anchors.” 

“Oh, absolutely. How many shadowhunters get killed in battle after they lose their partner or their child? Grief makes people reckless and unreasonable.”

“There have been many parabatai that have killed themselves after their bond was broken on one side. If they had no support after their shared soul’s death, it overcomes them.”

“Yeah, I think parabatai are the perfect example of Shadowhunters needing anchors. Some of us literally soul bond ourselves to someone. A literal emotional tether made for them. Whoever wrote the book was obviously an idiot in that regard,” Izzy commented with a smug smile. 

Alec chuckled again before he looked at her with wide eyes, full of love. “I don’t think that automatically makes them the anchor though. You and Magnus are mine, not Jace. Wait, is it possible to have more than one because I’m almost certain I have two. You both can calm me down, but I feel like I have the most control when I’m with you both.” 

Izzy’s smile grew until tears were on her waterline. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before putting her tablet on the nightstand and curling up into his chest. “You can definitely have two, the book said it’s called an anchor pair. People with strong hearts and powerful emotions typically need a pair instead of one.”

Alec blushed slightly and smiled up at his sister. “I don’t know about the heart thing, but I certainly know how to be an emotional mess.” 

Izzy laughed loudly before returning to the more serious conversation. “You know, you always been mine. Not even Simon can calm me down like you can. I don’t think I ever would have slept when we were kids if you weren’t there.”

“Honestly, Iz, it was the same for me. I couldn’t sleep without knowing you were safe, especially if Mom and Dad were away,” Alec said as he pulled her into his side tighter. “Thank you for being here, baby sister.”

“Always, hermano. I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Alec whispered back before they both fell asleep. He slept for a few hours before he felt the bed shift slightly next to him. Alec groaned and tried to roll over, but he realized that there was still a weight on his chest. “Iz? Time is it?” he groaned. 

Alec felt a hand run through his hair and a voice that was clearly his husband instead of his sister say, “Shh, darling, go back to sleep.” He opened his eyes in surprise when he felt rings catch and he realized Magnus was in bed with him now. 

“Mags, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be gone for the rest of the week,” Alec asked quickly, trying to sit up but stopping when he realized the weight on his chest was their son. He wrapped his arms around Max and instinctively pressed a kiss to his forehead causing the boy to let out a relaxed sigh and press his face farther into Alec’s chest. 

“Well, Max seems to have picked up a little bout of a warlock cold as soon as we arrived in the Labyrinth which is common for young warlocks so don’t worry. However, he was pretty restless all night. He slept in my arms for awhile, but it was obvious that he wanted you too. I sent a fire message to let you know we were coming home and got a reply from Isabelle that your night was not ideal either. I should have realized that leaving you alone after yesterday was not the smartest decision,” Magnus answered with an apologetic smile as he leaned forward to kiss Alec’s forehead and then Max’s. 

Alec looked down at Max with worry in his eyes that settled when Magnus said that it was normal. He shifted Max up closer so he could cradle his son’s head into his neck to comfort them both. “It’s not your fault, love. Nightmares did not even cross my mind yesterday. It’s been so long since I’ve been bothered by them, but I’m okay, I promise. Izzy was here and you are here know, I’ll be fine.”

Magnus nodded and leaned in again to kiss Alec on the lips this time. “Isabelle and Clary have already taken over today. Why don’t we go home so both of my boys can get some real sleep? We can have a quick lunch and then just cuddle up together for the rest of the day. Max is going to need a few days to get over this cold.” 

“That’s sounds perfect,” Alec replied with a sleepy smile as he pushed himself up while keeping Max close to his chest. “I’m sorry you missed out on your visit with Tessa. Hopefully you can make up Max’s visit soon.” 

“Actually, the short trip wasn’t a complete loss. I think I have a better idea of Max’s power levels now because he definitely has an anchor pair,” Magnus explained as he gathered up Alec’s things before opening a portal. 

“Wait, really? Izzy and I were just talking about anchors earlier,” Alec replied while bouncing a fussy Max since he is still not a fan of portals. Max settled quickly back into Alec’s hold when Magnus came over and rubbed his back. 

“You know about anchors? I didn’t think Shadowhunters believed in that.” 

“We don’t technically,” Alec said, “I mean, they don’t teach us about them and old hunters believed that we were trained to the point of not needing them. Isabelle and I think that’s a bunch of crap, but we rarely agree with Nephilim ideals anyway.” 

Magnus smiled with a small chuckle as he tucked a stray curl back behind Alec’s ear. “I think that we are Max’s anchor pair. He was not upset with just having me, but he was clearly looking for you too. I brought one of your sweaters along to sleep in and he didn’t stop fussing until I put the sweater on.”

“I think that makes sense. He didn’t really have safety or love until he came to us,” Alec whispered with a sad smile, bringing Max and Magnus somehow closer to him.

“Yes, that is true, but that also means he is stronger than a typical person, especially warlocks. Most warlocks can anchor themselves to their magic or maybe have one anchor. Having an anchor pair is rare. I mean, I had to anchor myself until I met Ragnor and then you.” 

Alec kissed Magnus’ forehead and let the silence hang for a second, thinking about how Magnus had to anchor himself because he was alone when he was young. Alec thought to himself that that was stronger than having a pair. Magnus easily could have let go without an anchor, but he worked to ground himself which is more than Alec figured he could ever do. “Izzy said that anchor pairs mean the person has powerful emotions. We...uh...we think I have an anchor pair too.” 

“I figured so when I met you, darling. It makes sense, the whole three go in and three come out thing. Jace and Isabelle tend to ground you, especially on the battlefield,” Magnus said simply, leaving Alec confused. 

“Wait, what? No, that’s not….Jace isn’t one of my anchors.” 

“Alexander, he is your parabatai, of course he is.”

“No, Mags,” Alec said quickly as he moved one hand from Max’s back to Magnus’ cheek. “My anchor pair is you and Izzy. That is when I feel safest. You two are the only ones who can stop the nightmares and the anxiety. I thought it was obvious that it was you.” 

Magnus’ eyes filled up with water similar to Isabelle’s earlier that morning. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Alec replied when Max started to wiggle against his hold. “And we love you, little man. So much.” Alec bent his forehead down to Max’s and Magnus held them both until Max calmed down again with little sniffles and a few coughs.

A few seconds passed of quietly rocking Max back to sleep when Alec whispered, “I hate that Blueberry is sick, but I’m really glad that you are back home.” A tired smile filled his face as he kissed Max’s forehead.

Magnus returned the smile and let Alec hold him with Max resting safe and warm between their chests. “As am I, darling, as am I.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been reading my fair share of Teen Wolf lately and the anchor idea seemed to fit into the Shadow World fairly well. I don't recall them ever talking about anchors in their world and I've never heard of anchor pairs at all, but it was an idea and I ran with it. Also, there has been a lot of angst since the trailer was released and I needed a little cute family fluff so I took a break from my other projects to throw this together. Hope you like it!


End file.
